Get Discovered Globally with Automatic Multilingual URL Indexing 🚀

To help cross-border merchants get discovered globally, SHOPLINE has introduced the "Sitemap Multilingual Optimization" feature 😍

Localized URLs are now automatically included, enabling search engines to properly index multilingual pages and boost organic traffic!

🌐 Highlight 1. Accurate multilingual URL indexing

Your storefront's multilingual URLs are now automatically included in the sitemap.xml. Combined with hreflang tags, this helps search engines direct users to the correct language version of each page.

🤖 Highlight 2. Smart sync for language settings

The system automatically syncs the "Supported Shop Languages" set up in SHOPLINE Admin > [Settings] > [Basic Settings]. To keep your sitemap clean and prevent invalid crawling, any hidden languages from the following settings will be excluded:

• The "Hide specific language" set up in [Online Store Design] > [Design] > [Advanced Settings].

• The "Hide specific languages" set up in the SHOP Builder header.

📝 Note: Hidden language settings in SHOP Builder are based on the currently published version.

🕰️ Highlight 3. Optimized sitemap frequency and lastmod updates

The sitemap update interval is shortened from 24 to 6 hours. Paired with an optimized lastmod mechanism, search engines are notified of page changes more efficiently, improving crawl frequency and content freshness in search results.

⚠️ Remarks

• This update applies only to sitemap.xml files. If your store supports multiple languages, please upload your sitemap in .xml format to ensure accurate indexing.
• The sitemap.xml preview has been adjusted for multilingual URLs. This change doesn't affect how search engines like Google crawl the data.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our Online Merchant Success Team for assistance!